An Friendship in the Name of Science
by Mega Rayquaza
Summary: How far will Courtney and Brendan's curiosity for each other take them? ORAS pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Need some proofreading, just posting it to see if this pairing is interesting at all

* * *

In the distant a white knit cap trainer shuffled past the entrance of Team Magma's base.

The former criminal organization has seen the error of their ways and openly welcomes the very person who opened their eyes to their wrong doings.

All the grunts said nothing as Brendan walked by, eyeing him with curiosity, and justly so. After all even though their leader Maxie as proclaimed that Brendan is welcomed here any time he wants, what purpose does he have coming back to the shambles of their former base?

Brendan held his breath, for beyond this door lies the very reason why he even came back here. Or at least he hoped that 'reason' was here. The reason? It was none other than Courtney, that Magma admin whom have intrigued him since their very first meeting. He always thought she was weird, not in a bad way but an intriguing kind of way. Her behavior that is, it's ironic how she always claimed to wan to analyze him yet here he is trying to analyze her. Or at least he thinks that's the reason he was here. Rather he convinced himself that's why he was here.

Truth be told he has no real reason to come back here. Team Magma still has a bad stigma surrounding them. To many people who read the news Team Magma were just a bunch fanatics trying to end the world. Even if Brendan were to defend their warped ideology he couldn't exactly say that the civilians were wrong. Still here he is standing right outside the door of one of the very top ranking officials leading this heinous group.

Anxiously, Brendan held on to the handle, twisting it he realized it wasn't locked. He felt his hand shaking, he found himself sweating as if Groudon just released its rage upon the area. Nervousness? He wasn't sure why he felt this way. This was more nerve wracking than facing Steven as funny as that sound. Again he wasn't sure why, it's not like this is the first time he has seen her before. He had his scuffles with the Magma admin time and time again yet this time it was different, maybe it was because he didn't come to fight this time, this time he came to… what did he come here to do? Not being sure, he concluded that's why he was being so nervous.

Swallowing hard, he opened the door. He was a trainer who faced the ruler of the skies Rayquaza, the one who conquered the creator of the lands Groudon, the one who took down an organization with equipment and funding Hoenn's military can only dream of, he was a trainer who defeated the best trainer in Hoenn: Steven. To be this nervous is an utter embarrassment. With a new found courage he slammed the door wide open.

_"__Crap way to go! Why did I go and do that for!?"_

Mentally scolding himself he just wanted an Abra to teleport him away, doesn't matter where just anywhere but here. Up till now he never knew there could be a more embarrassing way to open a door.

Glancing around anxiously, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that no one was in the room.

_"__Haha, great I did it, see I could leave now."_

Mentally laughing, he tried to rush out of the room but then something caught his eye. It was a PC the screen was still turned on. Swallowing hard, he assumed that probably means Courtney was just recently here, she could have just went to the restroom or something. If she came back and see this hated trainer barge in uninvited he could only imagine how bad his image would be in her eyes. Not that he could get any worse he thought. After what he did to Maxie, he is probably her most hated person.

But what really caught his attention wasn't the fact that Courtney was just recently here but what was on her screen. It was various pictures of Maxie and upon further inspection there were time stamps all over it as well. Brendan felt his heart pang with jealousy, although he wasn't sure why. Deep down he thought he was the one that Courtney wanted to 'analyze.'

_Wait why am I thinking!?_

Quickly he crossed that thought. Mentally scolding himself for even having such a thing snuck up in his mind he ran out the door.

"Ooof!"

He bumped into something and fell flat on his bottom.

"Oww… what the…?"

Looking up he saw it was none other than the very person he came to see. The purple haired trainer was as stunningly mesmerizing as he remembered. Her bored violet eyes showed no emotions. Her violet puffy hair was as well kempt as ever.

_Girls are so amazing…_

Shaking his head a few times to get rid of those sneaking thoughts, he stood up. She made no move to attack him or even a word; she remained in her usual slouched form.

A few seconds passed

A few more seconds passed.

The awkward atmosphere was made all the more worse with how she just stood there not uttering a single word. Her slender form remained like a statue.

_"__Say something Brendan! Say something!"_

Just when he was about to apologize, her soft musical voice cut him off.

"…You are welcome here anytime you like…"

With that she sat on her office chair, staring at the screen of her PC motionlessly.

Brendan blinked a few times, unsure of exactly what to make of the whole situation. Turning his head to look at her, she was still facing her with her back. His mouth went dry as he try to find something to say.

_Not battling her is making me nervous…_

"So uhh, what do you do now? I mean Team Magma as a whole."

"…"

Another moment of awkward silence passed but only this time Courtney turned to face the young trainer.

Brendan felt he lost his usual confidence when the older woman like usual playfully hopped over. Her expression however was one of indifference contrary to her movement.

It was one of the many reasons that attracted the white knit capped trainer to Courtney. The way she moves around, it was different than those of other girls his age, but it wasn't something unique to older women either he don't recall any women doing that. And it surely wasn't something Team Magma does specifically either, it was just a Courtney thing. That and her other odd yet cute(?) behavior piqued the young trainer's interest.

Courtney studied the young boy with interest, her violet orbs moved ever so slightly like she was sizing up her prey. However she made no further movement nor did she let out a sound. The atmosphere became tenser and tenser as Brendan forced down more saliva down his throat.

"Uhh…"

"…Ahaha~…why are you nervous…?"

"Huh? I-I'm not nervous?"

Brendan felt his face beat red from embarrassment. Honestly, having beaten her these many times in battle and then being this afraid of a non confrontational conversation is mind boggling.

"…You…seem different…"

Brendan paused for a bit, this was probably the last time he is going to see her, after all what other purpose would he have to come back here? Hell, he didn't even have a purpose in coming here in the first place. Being this afraid over nothing is just silly. Sure he didn't know why he felt this nervous but it was silly nonetheless. Closing his eyes, he summoned his courage, he can get as embarrassing as he can. It's the last time he'll come here anyway.

"I came here to see you."

To his surprise Courtney finally showed an emotion. Her blanked expression changed to one of shock. Her violet orbs shrunk a bit and her eyes widened.

Brendan gritted his teeth hard, using all his willpower to not just dash away right now, after the embarrassing thing he just said. Still he expected her to rebuke him or something. She hated him didn't she? Even if she seemed to have forgiven him after Maxie's apology he wasn't sure if all the animosity was really gone.

Courtney looked to the side and hopped back to have computer. Brendan let out a silent sigh of relief; it wasn't as bad as he originally had thought.

"…I was just about to delete these photos…"

"Huh-what?"

Brendan blinked a few times with a dumbfounded expression, that wasn't the response he had anticipated in fact it he never even brought up anything about her computer at all. But then again Courtney is an odd one…

"…you…asked me…what I was going to do…correct?"

"Oh… yeah I did." Brendan scratched the back of his head with a forced laughter.

"But why?"

Brendan looked on in confusion, he was sure that Courtney looked up to, no, idolizes Maxie, and what was on the PC not only confirmed it but it proved that Maxie was someone more than just an idol to Courtney, yet she's just deleting him?

"…If I wanted to move on then this is what I will have to do."

"Move on from Maxie?" _What could she possibly mean by that?_

"…I want to…analyze."

Analyze? Analyze what? She could be quite the mysterious girl sometimes, it was one of the very reasons he came to see her in the first place.

"Ahahah~" she let out a musical laughter before finishing her sentence. "…you now..."

Brendan lips went to an O shape, blinking a couple of times he wondered how such a development could even have happened. Initially, he came here to see her, wondering how it'll feel to have a non confrontational conversation but now she wanted to analyze him now? That really is confusing… would she have said that had he not showed up here today?

Brendan assumed that she's just playing with him, making a fool out of him so ultimately he decided that the only course of action was to play her game, since she always confuses him with her behavior he has to pretend to be unfazed.

"If that's the case, I'm going on a new adventure, to move past Hoenn, want to join me?"

He almost bit his tongue at the words that came out of his mouth. Utterly embarrassing he thought but if she was going to tease him that provocatively with words then he will return the favor.

Courtney widened her eyes, another emotion this one was one of shock.

"It's just that travelling alone would be boring, I want someone I'm able to talk to."

"…talk…? Me?"

Courtney's bewildered expression did not change, she stared at the younger male confusedly.

Glancing back, she did intend to start anew, part of the reason she was so loyal to Maxie was his ambitions, when this young trainer showed up her faith already started to wane. Why? It was because of Brendan's equal amount of determination and ambitiousness. Maxie became a shallow of a man after his defeat which is why she detested the young trainer, for he was the reason that destroyed Maxie's personality, the very personality that attracted her to join Team Magma's ranks. But ultimately after Maxie's apology her eyes were opened to her leader's true self. A person with true determination and ambition wouldn't give up after a defeat; Maxie was just not the person she envisioned him to be. Rather she put him on a pedestal so high; Maxie could never live up to her ideal image of him. It all became clear to her after that sincere apology, Maxie wasn't as strong willed as she had originally perceived him as. But this boy, the one that had intrigued her from the start, how against all odds he still ran head on, he was the one truly worthy of the high pedestal that originally belonged to Maxie. This trainer who against all odds, stood up for what he believed in.

"Yeah, you want to? I could use a travelling partner. Hahaha…" Brendan tried to stay cool but he was secretly readying himself to jolt out the room at a moment's notice.

Courtney gave a small smirk.

"Hah…" her small voice whispered out.

_Hah? Hah means yes right? I remember her saying that whenever Maxie gives her orders…_

"…Where to then…?"

_WOAAAH…is she really going to follow me just like that?_

"Really you going to follow me to another region…?"

Brendan sounded skeptical but hopeful.

"Yes, you… seem fun~"


	2. Chapter 2

Brendan woke up the next day with a bright smile, a feeling he had nearly forgotten. Just as he was about to stand up, he found himself sent back down onto the bed with a thud.

"L-Latias!" the young trainer complained as the red dragon cuddled up against him, cooing his name.

Well, tried to at least, but Brendan knew what her moans meant.

Petting her, the young trainer cooed back, "Are you as excited as I am Latias? We will be going to Unova soon!"

Latias nodded exuberantly, floating upwards, she joyfully danced around in circles.

Brendan couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "And to think the former Team Magma admin Courtney is willing to join me too!-

-Huh? What's wrong Latias?"

He could quite literally see all the cheerfulness evaporated from Latias' face. Flying down, her bright smile was turned upside down.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you not like Courtney?"

Latias shook her head, fluttering her hands about, hoping to Arceus that her trainer understood what she meant.

But unfortunately for the red dragon, Brendan remained oblivious. She continued her dance of discontentment, but her trainer merely gestured her off. Moving past her, he went off to change in order prepare for the upcoming adventure.

Latias could only look on miserably as he disappeared behind the bathroom door.

But fortunately for the dragon Pokemon, Brendan did not take long to finish his preparation, he rushed out almost instantly; fully clothed in his adventure outfit, and with a minty breath to boot. It was clear that his excitement was unrivaled.

"Come on out Sceptile!" Brendan charismatically shouted, releasing his best friend from his confinement.

The green lizard stood tall and proud, giving a good roar, which sent all the nearby Tailow packing.

"Haha, that's great!" Brendan said, rubbing Sceptile's head with a smile. Although his favorite Pokemon made a face of annoyance, it was clear he enjoyed his trainer's embrace.

"Get your last breath of that Hoenn fresh air while you can. We won't be back for a long time."

Sceptile simply nodded, not showing any hints of care. Brendan chuckled a bit, even after fully evolving, his Treecko kept the same amount of bravado.

Hoping on to Latias' back, Brendan flew towards the designated meeting spot.

His heart raced faster and faster as he neared the volcanic ruins.

She will be here, he thought nervously, clearly unsure of how to react when he does see her.

Latias swirled around playfully before landing down with grace. Thanking her, Brendan jumped down to the sooty ground.

"Ha..ha~ You weren't lying…after all…"

"Why would I lie?" he instinctively replied defensively, causing him to wince with regret.

The beautiful violet haired girl however, did not respond, she simply stared at him with an unreadable smirk.

Gulping nervously, Brendan took out his Pokeball. "Groudon, you are free!" he called out as he tossed the Legendary Pokemon into the lava pit.

Courtney stared in awe as the creator of the lands was summoned forth. The very Pokemon she and Maxie nearly dedicated their entire life to capture is now standing in front of her with all its glory.

Groudon glared at Brendan wordlessly for countless minutes, before retreating into the lava of the giant volcano.

Latias proudly danced around her trainer, happy that he not only conquered one of Hoenn's strongest, but is heroic enough to release it.

"Well… that sets down a huge burden…" Brendan quietly mumbled to no one in particular. His gaze shifted back to Courtney, who was still awestricken by the display.

"Well then, shall we go?"

"…Y-yes…" Courtney replied absently. The taller woman followed behind Brendan.

Latias looked dumbfounded, almost insulted. She made cries of protest as Brendan mounted her. But her trainer did not pay her much mind; he extended his hand towards Courtney, who robotically accepted.

When the former Team Magma admin got on, Latias whimpered her final complaint, but all she received was a pat on her head.

"Come on, Latias, I trust her, why can't you?"

The legendary Pokemon returned his look with eyes of pity, it was clearly obvious her displeasure had nothing to do with Courtney's past, but Brendan remained clueless.

But seeing no other option but to comply, she flew off into the distance.

After countless hours, Brendan and Courtney finally landed in Unova. He could barely contain his excitement, but fortunately much of it was drowned out by his nervousness around Courtney.

He extended his hand to help the taller woman down, but seeing that she jumped off without his help made him mentally face palm with regret.

"How embarrassing…" he found himself absently mumbling.

"…What's… embarrassing… haha~?" she inquired with her patented singsong voice.

Flabbergasted, he quickly replied, "Nothing!" but his voice came out in a jumbled mess.

Brendan sighed with defeat; all he earned out of this humiliating debacle was a quizzical stare from Courtney and a big fat glare from Latias.

Deciding that he had enough of the awkward silence after the previous fiasco, Brendan nervously asked, "Hey Unova feels a lot more traditional and peaceful than Hoenn, don't you think?"

Courtney, however, did not respond she just kept turning left and right, her eyes glimmering with curiosity.

"Well… this is sure embarrassing…" he said in his usual confident voice. Brendan managed to find the bravery he lacked earlier. But alas, even confessing his embarrassment aloud did not garner him a response from the eccentric girl.

_At least this gives me time to myself to consider how I should tackle the Gym Leaders of this region._ Brendan thought, trying his best to remain optimistic.

"Hey you."

A light voice called out; dragging Brendan's disheveled mind back into reality.

Turning back, he found a young man, a bit older than him. He had long green hair tied to a bun topped with a white and black cap.

"Huh?" Brendan asked with wonder.

Walking over, the young man smiled, "My name is N, I happen to walk by and saw your Latias."

"Oh right…" Brendan absently replied, mentally scolding himself for allowing Latias to roam around so freely. She was far too rare and far too sought after to allow to be hanging out.

"Sorry Latias…" he whispered his most sincere apologies as he returned her to her Pokeball. Latias gave a cry of protest but could do nothing as she was returned to the spherical device.

N watched on with pity, before finally saying, "Even now I do not agree with trapping a Pokemon in Pokeballs when they clearly do not wish to be."

Brendan stared at the green haired man quizzically; he was acting strange in the mind of the young trainer. "I don't like to trap her in there myself but I don't want her to get attacked by criminals and the like."

N smiled softly, "Of course, I do not blame you… say trainer do you recognize me from anywhere before?"

"Huh..? Not partic-" Before Brendan could fully reply, Courtney stood forward, with a voice so serious, he couldn't believe that it came from her at all. But what made Brendan even more surprised, was not her sudden seriousness, but her now defensive posture over him; she had an arm in front of him protectively.

"You…are the King of Team Plasma."

N chuckled sarcastically before replying, "Maybe some years ago, but I am now a rogue."

Brendan pulled Courtney back, whispering in her ear, "Wait, you know this guy?"

In a deadpan manner, she turned to face him, brushing her nose against his…

…Then she nodded, which only served to repeatedly rub their noses together, Brendan nearly fainted.

"A-AHHH!?" Brendan stammered; his face painted a deep shade of pink.

"Yes…I was given the order to study criminal teams from other regions…" she whispered back, her lips centimeters away from his. Brendan nearly fainted when her soft breath tickled his face.

_She smells really good up close…_ he thought with a dumb smile before falling down onto his behind. Shaking his head, he mentally cursed himself for having such creepy thoughts.

N stared at the two with amusement, "While I did not study up on you, I do know about you."

"What?" Brendan asked, shaking his head in a bid to cleanse his mind from impure thoughts.

N turned, looking around for a while, he smiled once more, "But not here, let's go somewhere where there are no people."

"Wait, what?" Brendan asked suspiciously. But before he could even entertain the thought of rejecting, he was already dragged towards the bushes.

"Gwahh..!" Brendan spat out the sticky webs of a Voltik out his mouth.

"Just what exactly are we doing…?" Brendan thought, but upon realizing it was the soft hands of Courtney that was pulling him, all his prior complaints died down.

His face remained beat red as the three trainers finally arrived to a river.

Turning to face the two Hoenn trainers, N removed his cap with a bow. "Allow me to begin by thanking you for saving the world from the meteor."

"Meteor…?"

"Indeed, it was an international event, the meteor that would destroy the world, and the trainer who would wield the legendary Pokemon Rayquaza."

"W-Well! Rayquaza only let me borrow its powers, nothing to do with me r-really!" Brendan stammered from embarrassment.

N softly smiled at the humility of chosen trainer.

"Yes, indeed. Just as you made the headlines of international news, so did I, and just as you were chosen by a Legendary Pokemon, so was I… But for completely opposite reasons."

"What?" Brendan asked, confused.

He didn't know who this guy was, but it would be too awkward to say so. Brendan once more cursed himself for not paying attention to the news more.

"You saved the world; while I almost ruined it…"

Brendan shot a glance at Courtney, hoping she could enlighten him on what exactly this strange man talking about. But alas, she was just as confused as he was.

"I purposely followed you here."

"What!?"

"Go Zoroark!" He shouted, and at that instant, the strange black Pokemon appeared, shape shifting to a human and then from a human to another Pokemon.

The realization slowly sank in to the white hatted trainer.

Brendan slowly backed away from the mysterious man. "D-Don't tell me you had that Pokemon stalk me!?" Instinctively Brendan reached for Latias' pokeball.

"Worry not, I did not do it out of ill will, I did not want to return to Unova myself but I had to, to meet you."

"Why?"

"To warn you."


	3. Chapter 3

There was an aura of mystery emanating from N, but he is also appeared genuine. Naturally any distrust did not affect Brendan all to greatly, he remained unfazed by the strange new figure. The story told was interesting, a man named Ghetsis, whom the trainer named N seemed to believe is the head of Team Plasma, the new one at least.

Brendan took a deep breath, "N, you have my word." The white hatted teen proclaimed, extending his hand out, "I will help you defeat Team Plasma!"

N smiled gently, taking his hand he shook it. It was a warm basking moment, reminding him easily how motivated he felt when he challenged Team Magma.

Just when the height of glory was about to reach its climax, he was pulled back into reality.

Quite literally.

Courtney, who was beside him, repeatedly pulled on the sleeve of his shirt. Her expression, as per usual, was emotionless and unreadable.

"Ahh… Courtney what is it?" the young trainer forced a smile at the sudden awkward predicament.

"Umm… I don't think he wants to join you…"

The green haired trainer shifted around uneasily, it wasn't noticeable at first, but after Courtney's distraction, it caught Brendan's attention.

"Wait, why?"

"I'm sorry Brendan, but I did not want to return to Unova myself… out of fear of this region's future, I had to sought you out. So you see…"

Brendan hesitantly nodded, the mysterious trainer did seem genuine, but he was also clearly hiding many secrets.

But more importantly, what caught Brendan's attention even more was that Courtney was able to notice such fine details. Guess she really excelled at analyzing, he mused sarcastically.

"It's fine I understand; I'll keep an eye out for any suspicious activities."

The two parted ways not long after. Though curious, Brendan could not bring himself to ask why N was so distant to the region of Unova. If he wanted to stop Team Plasma, surely he could do it himself. But N's cold exterior dissuaded him from pursuing the topic further.

"In any case, I did come here to explore a new region after all." He said aloud, to no one in particular. Shooting a quick glance at Courtney, hoping for some type of reaction, but all he got was stoic stares left and right.

Gulping a bit, Brendan hated how nervous it was when everything is all settled down.

He was much more open with Courtney earlier when N was present, but now that they were alone, he found himself lost for words.

Sucking in a deep breath, he looked at her straight in the eye. "So do you want to check out the food here?" Her violet eyes blinked a bit before replying, "As you say."

Not the response he was hoping for, but he accepted it nonetheless.

Unova was a region that holds dear to their traditions, or so Brendan thought. The architecture is not one would expect to see in a modern region, but seeing many movies involving Unova's big cities it begs the question, just how much of a contrast exists within this region?

"Don't you think it's interesting that Unova is a region based on a monarchy system? Or used to at least." Brendan casually pointed out, sneaking glances towards the violet haired girl as he did so.

However, she merely gazed at him, not one of emptiness nor was it intense-filled, but a like casual observer, almost adoring in a sense.

Immediately redness flooded his cheeks as the young trainer turned back forward, speeding up his steps. "Geez, what is happening to me?" he whispered angrily to himself.

It was then Brendan walked noticed flyers stapled everywhere, an extravagant if even a bit over-designed ad. _Pokemon World Tournament. _

Brendan absently mouthed out the title, the description immediately piqued his interest. "The best trainers in the world gathering in one spot, isn't that something?" Brendan faced Courtney with a face full of enthusiasm.

However, the older girl did not seem at all interested. Once more she merely stared at him.

Laughing nervously, Brendan turned away. "Well it's interesting to me at least." he mumbled with a voice of passion.

"Do you… want to… join that tournament…?"

Tensing up, Brendan turned to face the violet haired girl. "Yeah… it's certainly going to be very interesting…"

Courtney neither voiced her support or dissent, so Brendan had no one to goad him on, however, the ambitious trainer did not need any encouragement for a new challenge.

But before any of that could take place, Brendan realized he has to find a place to sleep. The sun is all but a fading orange yolk now, and he was in the middle of a bustling city. With no option to be picky, he settled on a cheap motel nearby.

When he paid the receptionist, thoughts and plots of attempting to sleep in the same room as Courtney crept in his mind; perhaps he could lie about money problems, he regrettably thought. Despite his efforts to reprimand it, they would not cease.

Cringing at his own embarrassing fantasies, he hurried to the shower.

"Thank god, she doesn't actually say anything…" he thought with a sigh while the warm shower flushed his tired body.

But all Courtney does is watch him, he does miss the tinge of her craziness, as much as he tried to ignore it. She was much more animated when they were enemies, now it seems like she just follows him religiously with no self-goal of her own.

When finally, the warm water finished clearing his busy thoughts, the young trainer stepped out. However, as he entered his room, he was surprised to find his hotel door was left unlocked. As it casually swung open, Brendan saw a single piece of paper on the bed.

And the paper, says as follows; "Meet me at the port of Castelia City, or the girl drowns."

Brendan hurriedly rushed to the ports, as fast as his legs could take him. But since the city has many ports he had no choice but to send out his Latias to help him search.

And having her disguise as a human was the safest way of course.

The thought of it being a trap for Latias did creep in his mind of course. They could be aiming to capture her, a legendary Pokemon, and to do so purposely separate them.

But at the moment, finding Courtney was more of a priority.

"My, boy, will you look at yourself, you're actually this worried?" a woman's voice taunted, chuckling sarcastically to herself, she continued, "This woman here, she was an admin for Team Magma, no? Why would you worry your little heart out over someone like her?"

Brendan turned towards the voice, slowly and menacingly.

Short neck-length gray hair, dark shades concealing her eyes and an over-the-top overcoat-like dress, she donned an appearance of both an imposing and secretive agent.

"Who are you?" Brendan demanded angrily.

Feigning surprise and hurt, the woman once more slither out her taunting tone, "Well, why would the Hoenn champion care so much about a criminal?"

"Answer the question, or I'll make you." Brendan's hand slipped into his belt, as he revealed a pokeball, containing his ace.

"No need to be so dramatic, my name is J, Pokemon hunter J, I'm employed by…" she paused herself, pondering for a bit, she then smiled deviously, "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you, since it doesn't matter after tonight, I'm employed by Team Plasma."

"Team Plasma…" Brendan mumbled, recalling the name of the team N mentioned earlier today.

"Oh yeah that's right, look kid, I'm not interested in playing games with you, so why don't you hand over Rayquaza and this girl won't get tossed to the sea?"

Smirking a bit, Brendan looked at her dead in the eye, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have Rayquaza."

"Oh? Well then, I guess this is goodbye." And as she said this, the unconscious body of Courtney was thrown down the pier, but the former Magma Admin stopped just inches above the water.

The mysterious woman named J turned around with a frown, gritting her teeth as Courtney's body continued floating up and up. And by the time she was placed next to Brendan, the invisible force holding her materialized.

"A Latias." J stated plainly, neither surprised or angry. "Expected as such."

"Expected? If you knew how flawed your plan was, why did you go through with it?"

"To confirm something, but to mainly draw you out most of all." smiling devilishly once more, "Let's see what's the Hoenn Champ's got in 'im, shall we?" J tossed out a pokeball, and in that instant, a Salamence appeared.


	4. Chapter 4

Any seconds of inaction could lead to the young champion's demise. This strange trainer, is not interested in mere Pokemon battles, she was after far more, and to do so, any underhand tactic is in her reservoir.

Keeping that in mind, Brendan was pushed to a mental limit he had not thought possible. The battle was much more intense than he had anticipated from a lowly criminal.

For one her Salamence was capable, secondly, Brendan can't simply drop out his Lati twins and expect good results, fearing that would only goad her on to try an underhanded tactic in stealing them.

He has to keep them away from her, for safety's sake.

"It's all on you Sceptile!" Brendan tossed out his beloved friend but just as he was about to utter a line of command, J rushed towards him.

Figured as much, he thought with gritted teeth. His legs shuffled rapidly to keep himself steady.

The mysterious woman pulled out some strange weapon and fired at him.

This wasn't just a battle; this was a war.

"At least Team Magma was much more honorable in their approach!" though they do gang him in numbers, it was not without weak fodders.

"Oh? I don't care about honor kid, I'm a hired gun after all." Her devilish smirk was one to be remembered as she rushed towards him.

A quick flash of distraction from the fiery breath of Salamence was all it took to distract the busy-minded trainer.

The young champion found himself entangled in a paralyzing net.

"Hmm…" J did not appear delighted, she was definitely not basking in the light of victory, she was merely disappointed. "How sad, are champions only good for organized competition and nothing else, boy you can't deal with any real combat at all can you?"

Just as she was about to seize him however, a large ball of fire launched towards her direction.

It was a Camerupt, but not just any Camerupt, it was Courtney's.

Naturally, Brendan shouted her name, his eyes desperately darting everywhere to pinpoint her small frame.

"Ahh! The Magma Admin!" Surprising to both Courtney and Brendan, J managed to dodge the Fire Blast.

Instead of being roasted to cinders, she was able to nimbly duck away.

"Wow…" Brendan can't help but at least be impressed by that display.

Peering backwards, J found something even more unfavorable. Sceptile through the opening Salamence gave him when it attacked Brendan, allowing the grass-type Starter to quickly overwhelm the blue dragon with a super effective Dual Chop.

Clicking her tongue, the hired gun, jumped onto the ascending Salamence. "It seems a champion's Pokémon is too much after all…" running her finger across the noticeable injuries on her Pokémon. However, her quirkiness remained unfazed.

They flew higher and higher until they disappeared into the night's sky.

And in less than a second, Brendan rushed over to Courtney, whom surprisingly still remained an apathetic face.

"Are you alright?" his could barely catch his breath with how fast his words were coming out.

However, instead of being relieved by her assurance of her safety, he was shocked almost, at a frown directed at him.

_Did I do something wrong?_

Expecting her frown to turn upside down, he almost thought that she would hug him like in those love movies, but, instead of such a romantic conclusion, her frown only deepened and she walked off.

Not even a thank you.

Paralyzed by shock, he stared into the blank air for some minutes before the cries of his Latias pulled him back into reality.

Skeptile too, walked over, with a huff and a grunt, turned his face away from his trainer.

"S-Sorry, I neglected you two didn't I?" He sighed, petting his two Pokemon.

"And… you too, latios, you must have been dying for action." Brendan remarked pulling Latios's pokeball out.

But with the danger of Team Plasma and a new region where the already exotic Latis are even more exotic, Brendan dare not use the eon twins casually.

Still, bigger things were on his mind than worrying about which Pokémon to use.

Why, just why did Courtney walked off?

And more importantly, how did J and Team Plasma catch wind of him?

Sighing, Brendan realized he is too famous to be left alone anymore. With the popularity of saving the world twice on top of being a champion, he can only expect these events to continue, and get much worse.

For now, Brendan thought it might be best for Courtney to…

As much as he hated to think such a thought, but it might be best for them to part ways for now.

The young Hoenn Champion is too much of a trouble magnet for any other options.

Pacing slowly back to the hotel, Brendan absently stalled his steps as delayed as possible. Dreading to face Courtney.

Why was he scared again? Honestly, he didn't know why he cared so much. Perhaps she was angry he failed to protect her properly, he thought. Could that really be the reasoning?

And even worse, how is he going to tell her that they should part ways? Scratching his head with frustration, Brendan wished that talking to a woman was as simple as Pokemon battles.

Opening the door, he took a deep breath, praying she would be inside.

…

Thankfully he was greeted with her listless violet orbs.

The moonlight lightly accentuating her delicate frame.

Brendan actually sucked in his breath absently, realizing just how beautiful she was.

Although he quickly reprimanded himself when he realized they were just dumbly staring at each other.

"…Thank…you for saving… me." Her usual singsong voice was replaced with a sort of forlorn tone.

Not that Brendan understood why.

"Y-You shouldn't thank me! It was my fault you got caught, I could only imagine what would have happened if my selfish plan didn't work… I'm sor—"

Brendan couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence when he found Courtney was staring at him with clear irritation.

He wanted to see her more animated, but not like this.

_Geez what did I do now? Did I say something bad?_

Turning around, she dropped her body against the bed. Letting Brendan only see her soft violet hair.

"…You … changed…"

Brendan felt his whole body froze before his arms dangled weakly to the side.

_Changed…? What did she mean by that?_

Sitting down listlessly on his bed, he pondered that question the whole night.

When the young trainer finally found sleep, he had decided to leave the subject of parting ways for later.

The next day was a warm welcome for the tired champion, the warm breath of the sun slowly slipped through the window cover, providing a soft wake-up call.

Getting off the bed, Brendan rubbed his temples pretending to fully wake up, but in reality his eyes darted back and forth trying to assess the awkward situation he woke up in.

Finally find his target, his eyes locked in on Courtney, using what little seconds he had to "analyze" her.

To make things stranger for him, she did not act differently from before, her usual self was already hard to read, so if she remained emotionless, it will only continue to be difficult for him to see if she was still angry.

Sighing inwardly, Brendan slowly realized he might never know why she was upset in the first place, let alone what she meant by saying he changed.

Still, she woke up way earlier than him, and was clearly dressed to go. So she didn't carry any overnight grudges right? He thought with a shudder.

Exchanging very few words, the two made out into the open.

Not settling for hotel food, Brendan wanted the native experience, and one way to go about that, was of course; food.

Walking outside the tall hotel building, his eyes immediately went to scan his surroundings, the distant pier that he fought yesterday could be seen with the naked eye. And so certainly the fresh smell of sea water lingered about, sucking in a mouthful of air, it brought a certain sense of nostalgia to the scenic seas of Hoenn.

Turning to his side, he spotted Courtney was also turning left and right with curiosity. But she has a camera this time, but unsurprisingly she was not using it.

Her arms were stuck to her sides with her hands pointing outwards. Her thin frame turning left and right with her body slightly arched forward, that strange yet cute pose she always does, which Brendan always summed up to a Team Magma thing, but apparently Courtney herself does it regardless.

He didn't realize how long he was staring unabashedly, until his hungry stomach voice its complaints.

Shaking his head from embarrassment. The young trainer went back to what he originally intended to do; find an authentic restaurant.

One of the most motivating factors for him to go travel, besides seeing new Pokemon and battling was food.

He heard that malasada in Alola was really good, he will have to try it sometime in the future.

The biggest city of Unova was as busy as usual, one second of losing sight of someone and one might lose sight of them forever.

People of business, trainers, professionals. All alike were bustling around, even well past rush hour.

_Is this the city that never sleeps?_

Brendan wondered staring into the skyscrapers that seemed to tower endlessly into the bright blue sky.

The joyous feeling of experiencing a new culture and environment almost had him forget about the strange event of last night entirely.

Obviously, J and Plasma was always on his mind, but the awkward exchange with Courtney almost seemed like a distant memory with how the two were now walking side by side.

Sure they were both silent, but that's how it usually goes. They were both people of little words.

Perhaps that's why they match up together so well. Or maybe that's just hopeful thinking on Brendan's part.

* * *

A\n: Hello, thanks for the review, I will be updating more frequently now.

Also, this chapter might have errors so i will fix them if I find them


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